Baseboard scrubbing machine



Sept. 6, 1966 Filed June 17, 1964 FIG N. N. OKUN 3,270,361

BASEBOARD SCRUBBING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NATHANIEL N. OKUN ATTORNEYS sept. 6, 1966 N. N. @KUN 3,270,361

BASEBOARD SCRUBBING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG INVENTOR NAT HANIEL N. OKUN ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,270,361 BASEBOARD SCRUBBENG MACHlNlE Nathaniel N. lmn, Cedarhurst, NX., assignor to The @ello Chemical Company, Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed .lune 17, 1964, Ser. No. 375,756

8 Claims. (Cl. 15-98) This invention relates to floor treating machines, andmore particularly to a tool which may be applied to such machines for cleaning the baseboard of a room.

Motor-driven floor treating machines are already in wide use. Many of these machines include a tank for a detergent solutionor liquid which may be fed to a brush for scrubbing a iloor. Such a brush, and other tools employed for abrading, waxing, polishing, etc., are smaller in diameter than the housing of the machine located directly above and around the tool. The baseboard of a room is not cleaned, and indeed the spatter incident to a oor treatment often helps dirty the baseboard.

The general 'object of the present invention is to provide a tool for cleaning baseboards. A more particular object is to provide such a tool which may be used in a standard floor scrubbing machine.

Such machines have been made in which the supply of liquid is fed to the center of the tool, and in other cases has been fed to the top of the tool at one side. These feeds are briefly referred to as center feed and side feed. A further object of the present invention is to provide a tool adapted for use in either type of floor scrubbing machine, that is, either with center feed or side feed of the detergent solution.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specic objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the tool elements and their relation one to another and to a lloor scrubbing machine receiving the same, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specicat-ion is accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of -a features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially sectioned front elevation showing a machine having center feed;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a machine having side feed;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through a tool ernbodying features of the present invention;

FlG. 5 is la plan view of the tool shown in FIG 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragamentary section 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FlG. l, a typical tloor scrubbing machine comprises a handle 12 connected to a housing 14 carrying an upright motor 16. The housing 14 is usually circular in plan View, and has a peripheral bumper 18 made of rubber or equivalent yieldable material to avoid damaging furniture. It will .be understood that the usual brush or other tool driven by motor 16 is smaller in diameter than housing 14, and the upper part of the tool is received within the lower part of the housing 14. The machine may be fitted with small wheels or rollers 2@ on which it may be moved when there is no tool in the machine. These rollers 20 may be and usually are made retractable.

When the machine is designed not only for waxing and polishing but also for scrubbing, it is fitted with a tank Z2 for a supply of detergent solution or other suitable liquid. This may be turned on and olf, as by means of a control handle 24, and is led through an appropriate tube to the scrubbing brush or tool.

In accordance with the present invention, the scrubbing machine embodying taken at the line 3,279,3@1 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 Fice machine receives a special baseboard scrubbing tool 26, one main characteristic of which is that it is larger in diameter than the housing 14 and its bumper 18. In a typical case, a sixteen-inch scrubbing machine may receive a tool having a diameter of say eighteen inches. Another characteristic is that the periphery of the tool is preferably cylindrical or upright and is quite high, say f'our inches to six inches in height. adequate for the baseboard which is to be treated. However, this does not necessarily mean that it must have a height equal to that of the baseboard. Ordinarily the spatter and dirtying of the baseboard is on the lower part of the baseboard, and therefore the tool shown may be adequate in axial dimension even if not fully as high as the baseboard. On the other hand, excess tool height is of no consequence because the baseboard projects inward from the wall of the room.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the particular motor drive here shown comprises compound reduction gearing generally designated 28, housed in an oil-tight gear housing 30. The low-speed shaft carries a suitable clutch or chuck 32 which detachably receives any one of a number of tools. The machine here shown is substantially the same as that disclosed in my Patent No. 2,517,915, issued August 8, 1950.

The main purpose of FIG. 2 is to illustrate a center feed machine, and attention is called to the liquid ilow tube 34 which slowly flows Vthe detergent solution inside the hub portion of chuck 32, and from which the liquid flows inside the hollow hub of a tool mounted on the chuck.

FIG. 3 illustrates what may be termed a side feed machine. Here again a circular housing 36 is moved by a handle 38 and is surmounted by a motor 4). Retracta'ble wheels 42 may be provided. Electric power is supplied through the usual ilexible cord 44 (also used but not shown in FIGl). The handle carries a tank 46 for detergent solution, and this is fed through a tube 48 to a tool beneath housing 36. The ilow is at the side of the tool, rather than inside the hub or'chuck.

Considering the tool in greater detail, and referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the tool comprises a top plate 50 having a rather deep hub 52, with parts 54 to detachably interlock with the chuck of a scrubbing machine such as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The scrubber portion is a cylindrical ring 56 which is secured to the bottom of the plate 50, in this case by cementing or bonding the same in place. The ring 56 has an outside radius signiiicantly larger, say an inch larger, than that of the housing 14 and is thrown outward by centrifugal force above the disc 58, and then seeps outward and downwar-d through the ring 56. The ring preferably is made of a matted fibrous material, and I prefer to employ a nylon mat. The liquid wets the mat, without splash or splatter.

The tool may further comprise a deilector disc 60 which is disposed intermediatet'ne top plate 50 and the closure disc 5S. The deector disc is secured to the plate 50, as by means of screws 62, with spacers 64 therebetween, that is, around each screw 62, in order to maintain clearance for free outward ow of liquid. The liquid is spun .off by centrifugal force on reaching the deflector or spin-off disc 60. Either the disc 58 or the disc 60 may be employed alone, but I prefer to employ both. Disc The height is made4 60 provides spin off, and is aided by the spacers 64. Disc 58 provides safety, as if rotation is stopped before the flow is stopped.

To help maintain the shape of the ring 56 it is preferably provided with a cylindrical liner 66. This has an axial dimension smaller than that of the ring 56, so that4 its lower edge is spaced somewhat from the floor, as shown at 68, and its upper edge is spaced somewhat from the top plate Stb. The closure disc 58 rests on and may be secured to the liner 66, and may be considered to be a liner top which closes the top of the liner.

As so far described it has been assumed that the feed of liquid is a center feed. Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, to take care of a side feed of liquid, the top of plate 50 is provided with means 7d to guide liquid inward as the plate rotates. More specifically, the top has spiral tins so designed as to carry the liquid inward, and the hub portion 52 has ports 72 at or immediately above plate 50, through which the liquid may ow inside the hub. In the present case there are eight spiral fins 70, and eight ports '72, one at the inner end of each iin.

In preferred form the periphery of top plate Si) is provided with a skirt 74 (FIG. 4) which prevents outward spatter of liquid fed to the top plate outside the hub. This skirt 74 may be molded of a plastics material, and it may be dimensioned to be received inside the peripheral flange 76 of top plate Sil with a snap fit. In such case the skirt may be added to a tool which is to be used in a machine having side liquid feed, and may be omitted (as in FIG. 5) from a tool 'which is to be used in a machine having center liquid feed. However, it does no harm to retain the skirt even with center feed.

After the liquid is guided through the ports 72 to the inside of the hub, it follows the path previously described, that is, it is thrown outward by centrifugal force on reaching the deflector plate 60, and then seeps outward and downward through the nylon mat ring 56.

A further optional element which may be added is a deflector cylinder shown partially in broken lines at 84D in FIGS. 4 and 5. This cylinder may be pushed into the lower part of the hub so that it is below the slots 82 which receive the lugs of the chuck. The cylinder Si) is preferably pushed down as far as the spin-off disc 64I, and ensures that liquid flowing inward through the ports then will tlow downward to the disc 60, and outward under centrifugal force, all as previously described. Deflector cylinder 80 discourages the liquid flowing inward through ports 72 from traveling across to the opposite side of the hub. However, as previously mentioned, the deflector cylinder Si) is optional, and is altogether unwanted when the liquid feed is a center feed rather than side feed.

Various materials may be employed for the parts of the tool. The top plate 50 may be cast aluminum. The closure plate 58 may be sheet aluminum or stainless steel, and the same applies to the spin-off disc 60. The skirt 74 is made of a plastics material, typically polyethylene. The deector cylinder Stb may be made of a plastics material, or of a waterproofed cardboard, and is sli-d inside the hub, preferably all the way down to the spin-off disc 60.

The liner 66 is a stiff impregnated or waterproofed cardboard. The ring 56 is built up of a loosely woven sheet material which is wound tightly on a stiff tubular mandrel, and which later is cut in slices. For the present purpose the long cylinder is cut to form thick slices of say four or six inches thickness, and subsequently a piece of the mandrel 66 is cut away at each end, as by means of a small circular saw applied to and revolved inside the mandrel. Nylon is preferred for the mat because it is quick-drying and holds the liquid between the bers, rather than absorbing the liquid into the fiber itself. The nylon material here employed may be a known material heretofore made on a long stiff mandrel just as above described, but the cylinder has been cut in thin slices, say tone inch thick or les-s, for use yon the flat side or fac-e of Cil the disc, as a flat circular pad, rather than for use around its peripheral or cylindrical wall.

It is believed that the construction and method of use of my improved baseboard scrubbing tool, and its relation to the floor treating machine which receives the tool, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described the invention in a preferred form, changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims. In the claims the reference to the cylindrical scrubber ring having an axial dimension adequate for the baseboard to be cleaned means merely that the ring is substantial in axial dimension, and not necessarily that it corresponds precisely to the height of the baseboard. The nylon mat as heretofore manufactured has been made both without and with an abrasive, the abrasive being silicon carbide having very tine particles, say, #24() grit. The present tool similarly may be made with or without an abrasive.

I claim:

l. A tool for cleaning baseboards, said tool being designed for use on a oor scrubbing machine having a motor driven chuck and having a tank for detergent solution, said baseboard tool comprising a top plate having a hub with parts to detachably interlock with the chuck of a scrubbing machine, a cylindrical scrubber ring secured to the bottom of said plate, said ring having a diameter larger than that of the machine, the periphery of said ring being an upright cylinder having an axial dimension which is substantial and which is adequate for the baseboard to be cleaned, said ring being a body of fibrous material through which liquid will seep slowly, `a disc closing the hollow inside of the ring somewhat below the top plate, said top plate having an opening over the disc, the arrangement being such that liquid supplied to the tool is l thrown outward by centrifugal force above the disc to the inside of the ring and thence seeps outward and downward through the ring.

2. A tool for cleaning baseboards, said tool being designed for use on a floor scrubbing machine having a motor driven chuck and having a tank for detergent solution with a center feed to the scrubbing tool, said baseboard tool comprising a top plate having a hub with parts to detachably interlock with the chuck of the scrubbing machine, said top plate having a diameter smaller than the machine, a cylindrical ring of matted libre secured to the bottom of said plate, said ring having a dameter larger than that of the machine, a cylindrical stiffening liner inside the ring, the periphery of said ring being an upright cylinder having an axial dimension which is substantial and which is adequate for the baseboard to be cleaned and said liner having a smaller axial dimension so that its lower edge is spaced somewhat from the floor and its upper edge is spaced somewhat from the top plate, a disc* shaped liner top closing the top of the aforesaid cylindrical liner, said top plate having an opening over the liner ltop, `the arrangement `being such that liquid supplied to the center of the tool is thrown outward by centrifugal force to the inside of the ring above the liner top and thence seeps outward and downward through the ring.

3. A tool for cleaning baseboards, said tool being designed for use on a floor scrubbing machine having a motor driven chuck and having a tank for detergent solution with a center feed to the scrubbing tool, said baseboard tool comprising a top plate having a hub with parts to detachably interlock with the chuck of the scrubbing machine, said top plate having a diameter smaller than the machine, a cylindrical ring of nylon mat cemented to the bottom of said plate, said ring having a diameter larger than that of the machine, a cylindrical stitfening liner inside the mat, the periphery of said mat being an upright cylinder having an axial dimension which is substantial and which is adequate for the baseboard to be cleaned and said liner having a smaller axial dimension so that its lower edge is spaced somewhat from the floor and its upper edge is spaced somewhat from the top plate, a disc-shaped liner top closing the top of the aforesaid cylindrical liner, a deliector disc intermediate the top plate and the liner top, means including spacers securing the deiiector disc to the top plate, said top plate having an opening over the disc, the arrangement being such that liquid supplied to the center of the tool reaches the deector disc and is thrown outward by centrifugal force to the inside of the mat above the liner top and thence seeps outward and downward through the mat.

4. A tool for cleaning baseboards, said tool being designed for use on `a iioor scrubbing machine having a motor driven chuck and having a tank for detergent solution, said baseboard tool comprising a top plate having a hollow hub with parts to detachably interlock with the chuck of a scrubbing machine, a cylindrical scrubber ring secured to the bottom of said plate, said ring having a diameter larger than that of the machine, the periphery of said ring being an upright cylinder having an aXial dimension which is substantial and which is adequate for the baseboard to be cleaned, said ring being a body of brous material through which liquid will seep slowly, a closure disc closing the hollow inside of the ring somewhat below the top plate, the upper surface of said top plate having means to guide liquid inward over the top plate to the hollow hub, the said hub having ports through which the liquid may llow to reach the inside of the hub, the lower portion of the inside of said hub having a hollow deflector cylinder to guide the liquid downward to a point below the top plate where it is thrown outward by centrifugal force to the ring and then seeps outward and downward through the ring.

5. A tool as defined in claim 4 in which there is a deflector disc a little below the top plate and above the closure disc inside the tool, and means including spacers securing the deector disc to the top plate, and in which the upper surface of said top plate has spiral ns to guide liquid inward, the arrangement being such that the liquid is guided inward through the ports and downward to the deflector disc and thence outward to the ring and then seeps outward and downward through the ring.

6. A tool as defined in clairn 5 in which the hollow dellector cylinder inside the hub -is removable when the tool is to be used on a scrubbing machine having a center liquid feed instead of a side liquid feed.

7. A tool as dened in claim 5 in which there is a hollow cylindrical stiifening liner inside the ring and the closure disc acts as a liner top which closes the top of the aforesaid stitfening liner, the said deflector disc being below the top plate and above the said liner top, and in which there is a skirt secured to the periphery of said top plate to prevent outward splatter of liquid fed to the top plate from the tank.

8. A tool designed for use in a lioor treating machine having a motor driven chuck and having a tank for detergent solution, said tool comprising a top plate having a hollow hub with parts to detachably interlock with the chuck of a door treating machine, an annular scrubber secured to the bottom of said plate, a disc occupy-ing the inside of the scrubber somewhat below the top plate, the upper surface of said top plate having spiral fins to guide liquid inward to the hub, the said hub having ports through which the liquid may liow to reach the hollow inside of the hub, and thence ow downward to a point below the top plate where it is thrown outward by centrifugal force to the annular scrubber.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,931,893 10/1933 Fleming et al. l5-29 2,039,356 5/1936 Smalley 15-50 2,764,394 9/1956 Miller 15-29 X FOREIGN PATENTS 539,324 6/ 1922 France.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

L. G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TOOL FOR CLEANING BASEBOARDS, SAID TOOL BEING DESIGNED FOR USE ON A FLOOR SCRUBBING MACHINE HAVING A MOTOR DRIVEN CHUCK AND HAVING AND A TANK FOR DETERGENT SOLUTION, SAID BASEBOARD TOOL COMPRISING A TOP PLATE HAVING A HUB WITH PARTS TO DETACHABLY INTERLOCK WITH THE CHUCK OF A SCRUBBING MACHINE, A CYLINDRICAL SCRUBBER RING SECURED TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID PLATE, SAID RING HAVING A DIAMETER LARGER THAN THAT OF THE MACHINE, THE PERIPHERY OF SAID RING BEING AN UPRIGHT CYLINDER HAVING AN AXIAL DIMENSION WHICH IS SUBSTANTIAL AND WHICH IS ADEQUATE FOR THE BASEBOARD TO BE CLEANED, SAID RING BEING A BODY OF FIBROUS MATERIAL THROUGH WHICH LIQUID WILL SEEP SLOWLY, A DISC CLOSING THE HOLLOW INSIDE OF THE RING SOMEWHAT BELOW THE TOP PLATE, SAID TOP PLATE HAVING AN OPENING OVER THE DISC, THE ARRANGEMENT BEING SUCH THAT LIQUID SUPPLIED TO THE TOOL IS THROWN OUTWARD BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE ABOVE THE DISC TO THE INSIDE OF THE RING AND THENCE SEEPS OUTWARD AND DOWNWARD THROUGH THE RING. 